New threat against Capitol closes House – National & International News – THU 4Mar2021

New threat against Capitol closes House. House passes sweeping police reform bill. ICC opens Israel war crimes probe. Myanmar junta defiant after 38 protesters killed.

NATIONAL NEWS

House cancels session after new threat against Capitol

The House of Representatives has canceled today’s session following warnings from Capitol Police that an unnamed militia group may be plotting another breach of the Capitol today. The Senate will convene as usual to debate Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill.

The Capitol Police say they are working with local, state and federal agencies “to stop any threats to the Capitol”. They added that they “are taking the intelligence seriously”, but did not disclose the nature of the intelligence.

March 4: “True Inauguration Day”?

Previously, Acting House Sergeant at Arms Timothy Blodgett had notified Congress of a potential threat involving “potential protests and demonstration activity surrounding what some have described as the ‘true Inauguration Day’”. 

According to an extreme libertarian branch of the murky QAnon universe, March 4 is the “true Inauguration Day”. Posters on QAnon message boards have speculated that ex-President Trump is somehow going to be re-inaugurated today. Their evidence? Trump’s DC hotel is all booked up this week.

Interestingly, several influential QAnon posters are discouraging members from taking part in any demonstrations or more extreme actions today. They claim that reports of an “unnamed” militia threatening the Capitol are a false flag operation by US intelligence to draw out the group’s adherents and encourage them to commit acts of violence.

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House passes sweeping police reform bill

Yesterday, the House passed a bill banning controversial police tactics and easing the way for lawsuits against officers who violate suspects’ constitutional rights. The “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” passed 220-212 with just one Republican supporter. That one Republican supporter, Rep. Lance Gooden (TX), said his vote was a mistake and that he actually opposes the bill. The bill’s prospects in the Senate are uncertain.

The vote comes days before former police officer Derek Chauvin goes on trial for a state murder charge in the May 2020 death of George Floyd. The bill withholds certain federal funds for local governments that allow police to use chokeholds. It would also ban “no-knock warrants” and require law enforcement agencies to provide data on instances of deadly force.

Rep. Karen Bass, who co-wrote the bill, said it would hold police “accountable” for violating constitutional rights. However, Bass also stressed that the bill would support local law enforcement by improving community policing.

One of the bill’s most controversial provisions dilutes the protection of “qualified immunity” for police. Critics have said that qualified immunity often allows officers to commit abuses with impunity. The proposed changes would make it easier to bring lawsuits against officers who commit offenses.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

ICC opens Israel war crimes probe

The International Criminal Court in the Hague is opening an investigation into war crimes in Palestine, both by Israeli and Palestinian forces. Palestinian leadership and many of the court’s state supporters welcomed the announcement. The announcement came just minutes before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched his online campaign for re-election. Netanyahu took the opportunity to denounce the probe as an “anti-Semitic” attack on the Jewish state. Charges of anti-Semitism have unfortunately become the go-to response to any criticism of Israel’s actions in Palestine and the West Bank. 

Israel has never ratified the Treaty of Rome and is therefore not a member of the ICC. Nevertheless, the court ruled it had jurisdiction in the case due to Palestine’s 2015 admission to the UN. The US is also not a member. Former President Trump imposed sanctions on the court’s chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. Netanyahu recently asked President Biden not to lift the sanctions. While Biden has yet to decide whether or not to lift the sanctions, the US government has expressed disappointment over the new probe.

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Myanmar junta remains defiant after killing 38 protesters

According to a UN official, police in Myanmar killed 38 protesters yesterday in several cities across the country. This makes the deadliest day of protests since the Feb. 1 military coup, bringing the death toll to around 54 so far. Rather than discouraging demonstrations, the junta’s brutal crackdown seems only to be further galvanizing protesters. Today, thousands gathered for the funeral of 19-year-old Kyal Sin, known as Angel, who was shot dead yesterday. Poignantly, she was wearing a shirt reading “Everything will be OK”.

Demonstrators are hopeful that the military’s escalating brutality will spur the international community to take action. The response, especially from Myanmar’s closest economic partners, has been underwhelming so far. Yesterday, an envoy of military junta defiantly told the UN that the military was prepared to weather sanctions and even international isolation.

Myanmar’s military leadership has been courting support from China, which characterized the coup as a “major cabinet reshuffle”. China has many economic interests in Myanmar, including several hydraulic dam projects, which are currently on hold. The leader of the junta recently signaled he was willing to restart those projects, many of which are hugely unpopular among Myanmar’s people.

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